Process of drying cans



F. e. FOSS.

PROCESS OF DRYING CANS.

v APPLICATION FIL D MAR. 3, 1919. 1,375,373., Patented Apr. 19, 1921. 3 9 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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V 6/ a I 57 I F. 6. F088. PROCESS OF DRYING CANS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3, 1919.

Puma Apr. 19, 1921.

g mfor' B I F. G. FOSS.

PROCESS OF DRYING CANS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 1919.

1,875,373 7 Patented Apr. 19, 1921.

4 SHEEISSHEET 3.

By V %M Z Wigs F. e. FOSS. PROCESS OF DRYING CANS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3, [919.

1,875,373. Patented Apr. 19, 1921.,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4-.

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FEED G. FOSS, OB NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ABSIGNOE ISO AMERIGAN CAllT GOEPANY, 93 NEW YDRE, N. Y A CORPORATION 03' NEW JERSEY.

racemes or narrate cans.

zen of the United States, residin in New ark, inv the county of Essex an State of New Jersey, have invented a new and use-- ful Improvement in Processes of Drying Cans, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to the art of dryin cans,and the invention has particular re erence to the rapid dryin of cans that have been cleaned or sterilize as for example by hot or cold water or steam.

An important object of the invention-is the provision of a rapid process for effecting such a dr ing operation and which may be practised t roug i the use of sturd simple machinery which may if desired e entirelyautomatic in its action.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a process that will effect the rapid drying of the can without the use of hi heat or other agencies likely to affect t e can or other article being dried.

Numerous other ob'ects and advantages of the invention will e apparent from the following descri tion of the process taken in connection with the description of the apparatus shown on the accompanyin drawing and which may be utilized in t e practice 'of the invention.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical section taken through an apparatus embodying my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial view similar to Fig. 1 and showing the relative position of parts of the apparatus at the completion of the drying operation.

Fig. 5 IS a section taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a partial section of Fig. 1 taken at the plane indicated at 6-6 in Fig.1.

The invention contemplates the application of a rapidly moving current of air into and out of the can and passing at some point in its travel or ath in intimate contact with the sides of tie surface being dried and at relatively high velocity. The air is either suckedinto the can or forced out through it, and in passing a restricted ortion of the side wall is moved througi a constricted passageway so that its velocity specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr, 19, 1921.

Application filed March 3, 1818. Serial No. 280,488.

at this oint is hi h and in intimate contact wit the wall, t e movement being preferably arallel .with the surface of the wall being ried. While the process is capable of utilization in various forms of apparatus a convenient method of practisin it consists in mounting the cans in he ders and producing a relative movement between the iolders and plungers or bodies of dimension only slightl less than that ofthe can, so that when t e plunger enters into the can, a small space is left between it and the adacent can surface. The air is either drawn nto or forced out through the plunger and into the space in the can betweenrthe plunger and can bottom. This causes the air to pass out or in in the form of a thin cylinder defined between the inner can surface and the outer plunger faces. The plunger is given a movement preferably into the can commensurate with the rate of drying and v the drying action, and in any event the drying action is progressive since if the speed of the entrance of the plunger be greater than the complete drying at the side of the can, parts of it at least will be dried in ad- VILHCB. of other parts. A form of apparatus of this character is disclosed for )urposes of illustration in the drawings an may be described as follows Reference character 11 indicates a yoke having a shaft bearing 12 at its upper end and, a shaft bearing 13 therebeneath connected by cross members 14 with a companion yoke 15, also having bearings 16 and 17 in alineinent with bearings 12 and 13. A shaft 18 is provided to extend through the bearings 12 and 16, and this shaft carries upon it a turret or wheel 19 which moves with the shaft. The outer circumferential edge of this turret is provided with gear teeth 21 meshin with a pinion 22 upon a shaft 23 iii bearings 13 and 17. The pinion 22 is connected with a beveled gear 24 upon this shaft 23 which beveled gear in turn meshes with the companion gear 25 upon a power shaft 26 having'an elongated bearing 27 upon the cross frame 14: and carrying at rotation b a spline or key 32. A cam member 33 is xed upon the sleeve 31 and has a cam slot 34 for controlling the movement of a pluralit of can holders or supports 35.

- Each of 1; ese can holders is mounted upon a pairof rodsf36 fixed at one end at 37 in the turret or wheel 19 and extending out in parallelism with the axis of the wheel. The

' can holders are all substantial du licates of of them will be sufficient for an understandeach other and a detailed description'of one in of the others.

eferring more particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, it Will be noted that each can holder consists of a semi-cylindrical body 41 having an end web 42 at its outer end and having internal ribs 43 and 44 adapted to engage the outer surface of the can body and near 51, one of which is located at each holder .bod

in t e holder having a size appropriate tothe ends thereof. At the inner end each holder 41 is provided with a rib 45. The

semi-cylindrical body 41 is provided with a pair of sleeves 46 formed integrally with the ody and located beneath it. through which and is arranged with its central axis coincident with the axis of curvature of the cylindrical part of the holder. Each of these sleeves carries at its outer end a plunger or 52 of the shape of the can to be placed cause it to enter into the can and leave a slight clearance or space between its outer surface and the inner surface of the can body. During the operation of the device the cans are deposited in the holders and each holder is then moved toward the wheel bringing the plunger 52 into the can, the movement continuin until the free end of y the plunger approac es close to the bottom 'of the can.

The space between the plunger and the can body wall is utilized as an air passage and means are provided to cause air movement through this passage to effect a drying action. This air movement may be either by suction of air from the outside through the can and into the passageway 53 within the hollow shaft 51 or it may be by means of air forced throu h the opening 53 in the hollow shaft 51 an then out from the pas sage between the lunger and can. The air movement is produced by suitable suction or pressure exerted through a pipe 54 opening at 55 into an arcuate chamber 56 (Fig. 1) provided in the body of the cam member 33.

The chamber 56 is open at one side at 57 throu hout its length, and. in the wheel are provided pockets 58, one for each holder and plunger arrangement. Each of these pockets IS in icated by a ipe 59 with the coupling 61 connected to t e hollow shaft 51 of the plun er.

' It 1s thus seen that throughout the operation of the movement during which the opening of the pocket 58 is in communication with the chamber 56 there will be created an air impelling force either. into 'or out of the can that, as will be later described more in detail, produces the actual dryin Referring now to Fig. 2, it will fie noted that a suitable feed 62 is provided at one point in the travel of the apparatus for automatically deliverin cans to the holder. In the illustrative em odiment of the invention shown on the drawin the feeding station is located at the top 0 the apparatus so that the cans enter. by gravity into the pockets. Immediately upon the entrance of the cans into the pockets the holder is caused to approach the plungerand by the time the plunger has entered a short way into the can the air action is started by the establishment of communication between the hollow shaft and the air chamber or chest in the cam member. The air application is thus started before the plun er-has moved an a preciable distance into t e can, and rapid y moving air isthus caused to pass between the portion of the can wall extending about the plunger and the plunger itself. The action of this air is effected very rapidly, dryin this part of the can wall, and the forward movement of the plunger progressively dries the wal as it nears the bottom. The outer edges 71 of the plunger are preferably sharp so that the current of air when the can is substantiall entirely upon the plunger, as shown in ig. 4, W111 be directed into the seam at the bottom and dry this portion also.

It has been found in practice that ver rapid drying ma be accomplished by suc an apparatus an that the rate of the drying depends upon the size of the space about the plunger. The and web 42 of the holder acts to hold the can a ainst outward movement where the air is orced in throu h. the shaft 51, and projections formed b 131115 72 are provided 1n the end 'of the p unger to hold the cans against too close contact with the outer face of the plunger when suction is a plied to .'draw the air in the opposite direction. The rib 45 acts as an efiicient stripper for the can in withdrawing the plunger,

and this rib may be formed asshown'to approach in close proximity to the outer face of the plunger in order that unflanged cans and the like may be properly operated upon.

-.relatively small area of can surface and to.

The cans are automatically discharged into a chute 73 located well around the circum-v ference from the feed chute 62 into which the can rolls after theholder has been withdrawn from the plunger (Fig. 3).

The action of the apparatus is to concentrate a rapid flow of air in contact with a advance the effective area of the can surface as the flow of air dries precedingportions.

By changing the locality, on the can-surface, of the restriction of the air current the most rapid and violent portion of the current consists of fresh and dry air, and the moisture is progressively encountered by dry air as distinguished from moisture laden air which has already acted on a moist can-surface. If desired the air may be sterilized and washed before being introduced into the can, andin any event traveling at relatively high velocity it materially helps toward the sterilization and cleaning of the can 10 its action upon portions of the can after t ey are dried.

It will be apparent that in each revolution of 'the turret or wheel 19 each can carried thereby-is turned once around its own axis. In a partial revolution the can is turned partially around its own axis. .This turning of the can causes the moisture on its surface to flow or be distributed or thinned out by motion or ravity, so that it'is very rapidly taken up y the air, with corresponding hastening of the drying operation.

It is believed that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be under-- stood from the foregoing without further description, and it will be apparent that the process is capable of wide a plication, being adapted for external as well as internal drying should such external drying in particular articles be desirable, and all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its material advantages.

I do not claim herein the apparatus disclosed, the same being the subject of my companion application Serial No. 280,495,

filed March 3, 1919.

I claim:

- 1. A process for drying cans and the like which comprises directing a flow of a current ofair to be confined substantially to a small space circumferential of the can.

and also endwise thereof, and applying said current of air to successive portions of the surface being dried to progressively dry said surface.

4. A process for drying cans and the like comprising passing a current of air into and out of -a can body, maintaining a portion of the path of said air to a restricted passageway in contact-with the can body, and varying said passageway during the operation of said current. i

5. A process for drying cans and the like comprising applying a rapidly moving current of air to a circumferential portion of the can and advancing the appl cation. of said current to successive portions of the body.

6. A process for drying cans and the like comprising applying a rapidly moving current of air to a circumferential ortion of the can and advancing the application of said current to successive portions of the body lengthwise of the can.

Signed in the presence of two subscrib 

